empowering leaders. creating community.Engaging with the natural world with joy and purpose. This is Howl.

HoWL Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, founded in Homer in 2009. HoWL’s mission is to empower young leaders through outdoor experiential education by providing fun and dynamic adventures in Alaska. HoWL operates primarily in and around Homer and Kachemak Bay, taking youth on wilderness Expeditions and Day Trips where they learn survival skills, leadership skills, and participate in activities like rock climbing, hiking, camping, sea kayaking, foraging for edible plants, and community service projects through our DiRtBaG programs.

MISSION

HISTORY

STAFF

BOARD

HOWLERS

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HoWL's mission

Our mission is to empower young leaders through outdoor experiential education, by providing fun and dynamic adventures in Alaska.

The Vision we hope to foster through our programs is a community in which people engage in the world joyfully, with confidence, competence and care.

​Just as we are proud of the smiling, muddy Faces of HoWLers when they arrive back from an expedition, we are also proud of HoWL’s Values: F.A.C.E.S.

F. Fun.A. Accessibility.C. Conservation.E. Education.S. Safety.

Fun:We at HoWL encourage exploration, creativity, zaniness, independence, joking, laughing, and getting muddy! The activities on our courses are all challenge-by-choice, which means that we only do things that are going to be fun. Through fun and games, students learn more about themselves, their teammates, the environment, and the inter-connectivity of it all, than any textbook could ever teach. It is this awareness, and the skills learned on every course that provide a solid foundation for the kind of future leaders that our world needs. It is also because we emphasize “fun first” that our students want to take our courses again and again.

Accessibility:There is no reason why someone from a low-income or at-risk family should be held back from participating in the type of activities that are most likely to nudge that person forward. Studies have consistently shown that participation in outdoor experiential education contributes to healthier decision-making, considerate and compassionate attitudes, and environmentally-conscious leadership. At HoWL, we don’t want to deny anyone the chance to experience our life-changing courses.

Conservation:HoWL exists because of the wild lands of Alaska. Preservation of our sacred earth is integral to the organization, to our enjoyment, as well as to all life on our planet. We believe that conservation begins with appreciation, and that survival skills and wilderness leadership inspire confidence and build character, laying the foundation for our environmentally-conscious leaders of tomorrow. At HoWL, the Leave No Trace principles are at the core of o﻿﻿ur curriculum﻿﻿, making environmental conservation easy and routine.

Education:HoWL is not a guiding service. Even though we take people into remote places that they would not necessarily be able to access on their own, our group leaders are not referred to as guides. They are instructors, and they teach HoWL students how to survive and return to the wilderness on trips of their own, as competent wilderness leaders, respectful of the environment, their teammates and themselves.

SafetyA backcountry setting is full of inherent risks. That is what makes it such a dynamic learning environment and such a good place for students to challenge themselves and grow. HoWL instructors are aware of the objective and subjective hazards of the area and the group, and transfer that awareness to the students by empowering them to lead the group and make important decisions.

Our History

HoWL began in 2009. Founder and Executive Director Libby Bushell started with a dream of adventure beyond the End of the Road, purely in wilderness, open to every kid who wanted to go. Eivin Kilcher and Libby led 52 youth on 6 week-long expeditions in Kachemak Bay.

In 2010, HoWL incorporated as a non-profit corporation. We hosted a Benefit Concert to raise money for our programs and created our first HoWL Movie. Libby, Eivin, and 3 other instructors led 87 youth on 9 trips. We awarded 8 full scholarships through our litter clean-up program.

In 2011, 120 youth participated in our programs. Seven instructors led 13 multi-day expeditions and seven Day Trips. We held our first instructor training trip and developed the DiRtBaG Clean-Up Week into the booming success it’s become. We awarded 13 scholarships to our participants.

In 2012 we had 291 participants in our 30 programs (Day trips and Expeditions). We awarded 57 scholarships and started exploring the upper Kenai Peninsula with our canoes at Swanson River, Swan Lakes and Skilak Lake. We began the Peer Leader program with 5 participants who cleared the Emerald Lake Trail.​In 2013, 519 youth participated in our 39 programs, 75 of whom received scholarships for their expeditions. We began our official partnership with the Kachemak Bay State Park by adopting the Emerald Lake Trail and working on other trail restoration projects through our State of Alaska Recreational Trails Program grant.

In 2014, HoWL increased our Day Trips in a major way, by including the Wild Sustainable Summer program every week. We also implemented the DiRtBaG Service Corps program and offered four different school field trips.

In 2015, HoWL had our most days in the field ever. We partnered with Colorado College and offered a 24-day expedition called Wilderness and Spirit. We received a grant to purchase the HoWL Van from the Rasmuson Foundation and we had a ton of fun on over 100 days in the field. HoWL’s founder, Libby Bushell, transitioned out of the organization, and a group of dedicated volunteers, with Rick MacBean as the new Executive Director, stepped in to carry on her bright vision for what Homer-centered wilderness leadership could be.

In the spring of 2016, the sudden passing of Rick left the HoWL community in a state of shock and grief. Leah Lamdin stepped in as Programs Director and with support from the board, staff and volunteers she was able to continue programming through the summer. Leah faced this enormous challenge with grace and her leadership saved the summer for many Homer youth. But regardless of this enormous effort, HoWL struggled heading into the off season and faced a leadership crisis.

A strengthened volunteer board of directors was determined to carry HoWL’s vision forward. The difficult decision was made to suspend regular programming for the 2017 season and focus energy on rebuilding the organization. In December, 2017 Dr. Mike Sturm was hired as the new Executive Director and planning began for a robust and exciting 2018 season!

It has always been the enthusiasm and support of not only the parents and kids, but our entire community, along with business leaders, that has made HoWL a vibrant force through the years. We welcome your continued support!

Staff and Instructors

All HoWL, instructors have a passion for the outdoors and a long history of exploring the mountains, rivers, lakes, glaciers, oceans, cliffs, canyons, valleys, deserts, beaches, and woods of our world. HoWL instructors are trained in emergency wilderness medicine, are seasoned and familiar with the area in which we operate, and are stoked to share their skills and knowledge with HoWL students.

HoWL hires its instructors and staff based on: professional experience, a commitment to experiential education, fostering leadership, and a dedication to preserving the environment and teaching environmental ethics. If an aspiring instructor can pass all those criteria, then they are hired based on the most important attribute: Fun-ness!

Every year, HoWL instructors and volunteers participate in our IT Trip (Instructor Training). Here they learn the unique methodology through which HoWL imparts its curriculum.

Mike loves being in the backcountry and in alpine areas. He is an avid hunter and fisherman with a 12 year background in teaching students age 7-16. Mike has a Doctorate Degree in Educational Leadership from University of Southern California. His dissertation focuses on the role of local context and effectiveness of teaching strategies in hunter education programs. Mike has several published works on the topics of hunter education as well as young adult and children's literature. He grew up in Soldotna and spent his childhood playing in the wilderness of the Kenai Peninsula. He sees HoWL as a perfect opportunity to pass on his passion for learning and the outdoors by helping to educate youth in environmental ethics, safety and woodsmanship.

Raised in the town of Ashland, Oregon, Kyla grew up running around the Oregon woods and developing a thirst for adventure. She loves getting outside, being active, and feeding her constant desire to learn. She spent five years in Portland, getting a BA in African Studies, working in an after school program, and facilitating leadership and community development as a challenge course facilitator. She spent a year in London studying for an MSc in Violence, Conflict, and Development and traveling. She is passionate about working to create a better world by creating spaces that facilitate the growth of empathy, compassion, community, and healthy relationships based on healthy communication. You can usually find her exploring new ways to get outside, practicing yoga, climbing, dancing, swinging on a trapeze, getting connected to place and food, reading, or making music. She's pretty stoked to get outside with HoWL and share her love of the outdoors!

Our Board

Joel Cooper, PresidentJoel Cooper moved to Alaska in 1991 to work as a field technician for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Thus began 25 years of non-stop fun and adventure to some of Alaska’s most spectacular places to study and learn their amazing plants and animals. He currently works as the Stewardship Director for the Kachemak Heritage Land Trust where he has collaborated with the HoWL DiRtBaG program on stewardship activities. Joel enjoys working with and teaching youth about the environment and in 2013 he was selected Alaska Big Brother of the Year, Big Brothers Big Sisters Program. Joel has a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies from Southern Illinois University. He served as President of the Kachemak Bay Conservation Society for two years, and four years on the Homer Fish and Game Advisory Committee. He enjoys all outdoor activities, especially hiking and skiing in the backcountry. He is also a passionate long distance runner.

Susannah Webster, Vice PresidentSusannah grew up in Homer and after spending a dozen or so years away, she returned to raise her own family. A HoWL flyer posted at Two Sisters was one of the hooks that drew her back and convinced her to stay. She has been head gnome at Smallpond childcare and preschool for 6 years and endeavors daily to teach the young children in her care that there is no such thing as bad weather, only opportunities for good gear. When not fitting twenty tiny mittens on twenty tiny hands, she enjoys dancing, berry picking, reading and staying warm.

Kate Thompson, SecretaryKate was born and raised in St. Louis Missouri, a Cardinals fan at heart! She enjoyed horseback riding, soccer, golf, tennis, and swimming as a youth. After graduating from college in Fulton Missouri with a BFA, she returned to St. Louis continuing her education in graphic design. Kate worked as a retail manager until 2014, then spent time traveling, including a vacation to Alaska. In June of 2015 she packed up her things, moved to Homer and has never looked back. She has enjoyed her new hometown and has been volunteering her time to the community. Kate volunteered with HoWL starting in late 2015 and continued through the 2016 season, joining the Board that same year.

Olga VonZiegesarOlga is a humpback whale biologist and founder of Eye of the Whale Research. She has also conducted whale research in collaboration with the North Gulf Oceanic Society and presented at the national Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals. Olga has also worked as a guide leading youth on wilderness expeditions. She formerly served on the board of directors of the Kachemak Heritage Land Trust. She is one of HoWL’s founding board members and has served with gusto since 2010!

Loreta MillerLoreta Miller is half a world away from the place she calls home, having been born and raised in a small town near Formia on the sunny Italian coast. As a young au pair in the UK, she learned how to speak English, ultimately leading to a life of adventure and a love of travel. Her decision to marry a Yankee in the early 90s meant 20+ years of moves following her husband’s career, as well as a strong bond with her family. As a parent of two teenagers looking for activities to keep busy during their first Alaskan summer, she discovered HoWL. Through the years her kids have become peer leaders, avid outdoors people, and overall Alaska lovers and she felt it was only right to get involved herself. Loreta started volunteering with the organization in 2014, becoming an employee in 2015, and joining the board at the end of 2016.

Kate CrowleyKate moved to Homer in the Fall of 1996 and wondered how Homer kids gained access to all the wonders and opportunities for exploring Kachemak Bay State Park. Three years earlier, Kate had attended the National Outdoor Leadership School (N.O.L.S) in the Rocky Mountains outside of Lander Wyoming. Three months of expedition group hiking and camping, climbing and caving, skiing and winter camping with a strict Leave No Trace philosophy gave Kate an entirely different outlook on life from her East Coast upbringing. Kate spent several college summers working at N.O.L.S.’ Palmer branch, where she learned what it takes to run safe and supported trips for teens and young adults in Alaska. Kate now works for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District. She loves to “romp” around with her husband and two sons, and she looks forward to the day when her sons can experience a HOWL trip and fall in love with Kachemak Bay and the Kenai Peninsula and all it has to offer and teach them.

Todd HindmanOriginally from Fort Worth, Texas, Todd Hindman moved to Homer from Nome in 2016, where he had spent 17 years working as the principal/teacher at Anvil City Science Academy. While vacationing in Alaska in 1992 he knew Homer was where he wanted to end up, It took 24 years, but that goal was met. In his spare time Todd enjoys art, photography, cooking, bicycling, swimming, music, and spending time outdoors. Having worked with youth for many years as an educator, he was eager to join the HoWL organization.

Levi KilcherLevi was born and raised in Homer, Alaska exploring the Kilcher Homestead and the greater Kachemak Bay area by boat, snowmobile, mountain bike, foot, and horseback. Motivated by his passion for the ocean, Levi received his PhD. in Physical Oceanography from Oregon State University in 2010. While in school there he traveled the West Coast to play Ultimate Frisbee and Rock Climb. He now splits his time between Colorado where he researches ocean energy at the National Renewable Energy Lab, and Alaska where he works to deploy renewable energy technologies throughout the State. In both places Levi spends his free-time exploring and sharing the mountains, water and forests around him with friends; he is continually motivated by the ‘connection-to-earth’ lifestyle that he learned in his youth.

Our HoWLers

HoWL is different from other similar programs in that we only take kids who want to go. Because the desire to get out and have an adventure is what makes a HoWLer a HoWLer.

On HoWL trips, individual students come together to form a tight cohesive group of adventurers that can conquer any task the Alaskan wilderness throws at them. HoWLers learn to plan ahead and prepare for known back country elements. However, it is when the unknown presents itself that HoWLers shine. They are self-motivated kids who learn to make smart, time-sensitive decisions that maximize the potential for safe adventure.

Although HoWLers are excellent at handling serious situations, they truly excel at having fun. From inventing a back country hot tub, to sipping cocoa and hunkering out a storm, to building a driftwood raft and sailing it out to the horizon and back, Fun is really what HoWL is all about. Legitimate, ridiculous, exuberant fun.

If you like Fun, you probably have what it takes to be a HoWLer. You won’t believe the adventures you can have or how your life will change in a summer or in a day with HoWL.